156000 miles - Used to be when I heard the ticking I knew I was about a quart and a half low - (it burns a quart per 1k miles since it had 80k - no big deal) - put in a quart or so and we're good. Now (since last oil change, 3 weeks ago - I use Castrol high mileage) with full crankcase have the tick all the time, although a little louder when first start and also when going uphill. What's about to go?

TIA

Jim

 

First of all, its probably not burning that 1 quart per 1000 miles, its probably leaking it. Those 3.0L engines were notorious leakers. They leak from everywhere, no matter how well you seal em up.
Anyway, your noise is probably a culmination of all the times you have been low on oil. Low oil starves the rotating assembly of vital lubrication. Without the proper lubrication the bearings begin to wear abnormally and cause the noises you are describing. You are probably looking at crankshaft and bearings failure. I actually have one of these vans ( a little older, but about the same mileage) that had catastrophic failure in the rod bearings. This engine knocks like crazy. The previous owner did not change the oil frequently enough and because of the common leaks it lost oil pressure, due to lack of oil! and spun a rod bearing doing severe damage to the bearing, rod and crankshaft.
I dont mean to scare ya, but you may want to determine the cost of a reman engine or if funds are tight, a very low mileage used engine that you can verify has no noise before you purchase it.
On a lighter note, these engines always do exhibit some ticking noises once they get some mileage on them. What weight oil are you using?
Hoe this is helpful to ya,
Billy

 

You know - I do see the white smoke (even in dry summer heat) and don't see any drops on the garage floor. Had the valve cover seal/gasket done a couple years ago - that cleaned up the garage floor for me. So where does the 'leak' going?

I use 5-30 in it.

 

I know you really mean Gray smoke... LOL. White smoke would be bad.... head gasket or such. It is possible I was wrong, but then I am going off of experience here and there are some exceptions. Yes the gray smoke would be a determining factor in oil burning. It is probably going past the valve guide seals. I still think your engine is on its way out, but I would drive it till it does and either get a replacement engine or vehicle. your decision. The leaks are usually from the valve covers, cam plug seals and any other seals on the top of the engine. But if you arent seeing spots on your garage floor then you obviously dont have a leak. So I stand corrected.
Good Luck,
Billy

 

Your Ticking is most likely a collapsed valve lifter &/or a dropped Valve guide. The 3.0L engines are known for valve guiides dropping and I'm sure that is your oil consumption fault. Reccommend to do a complete valve job to repair. If you intend to drive it till if dies, I'd recommend useing a heavier oil, at least a 10w30. But I could be wrong......

I thought I was wrong once, but I was mistaken.....

 

Thanks for the info

Venture a guess on cost? I've got a trusted mechanic, but it seems he's pretty high on major stuff

 

I recall that there was a service bulletin out for the 3.0 that instructed to put shims on the rocker shafts, to prevent the rockers from hitting on the shaft caps. I remember doing this on a few Lebarons back in the day, that would rattle to beat hell. I don't now if '96 was included. Matter of fact, I'm not sure which years were involved.
Thought I'd mention it though.